Betty Churcher has always known she could draw, she says it is something she was born with.

Her talent was her ticket out of Brisbane and across the world to art school in London, where she got to know the world's masterpieces, and secretly married a fellow student!

But Betty Churcher didn't end up being the artist she always imagined she would be.

A two-month trip home to Australia turned into 50 years. 50 very busy years, which included the birth of four sons and an invitation from Peter Holmes a'Court to become the first female director of the Art Gallery of Western Australia.

Betty was in her fifties when the invitation came through and had never directed a gallery before!

It was in her next role as the first female director of the National Gallery in Canberra that Betty earned her nick name Blockbuster Betty.

Then, five years ago Betty began to lose her sight...

You can listen to Betty's story here or you can subscribe to our podcast - search for "The Guestroom" in ITunes or Juice or head to our podcast page.